


I Wont Let You Not Love Me

by Sabbath (I_AKnownGay)



Category: One Piece, Zolu - Fandom
Genre: ;), Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Jealousy, M/M, Nami and Luffy are besties, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Robin Is a powerful lesbian, Smut, Unrequited Love, zolu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:46:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28831410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_AKnownGay/pseuds/Sabbath
Summary: "Do you really not know?"When some scandalous secrets are made common knowledge for the Straw Hats, Zoro decides he is done accepting the worst case scenario. He doesn't have the heart to go on without knowing what could be.The Straw Hats run ragged trying to help their most hopeless crew mates.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro, Nami/Nico Robin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

Zoro and Luffy stood at the bow of the Thousand Sunny. Zoro had his arms folded firmly across his chest and Luffy sat cross-legged arms folded on the ground in front of the swordsman. Both had tense expressions as they tried to have a conversation. Zoro had breached the topic after hearing some unpleasant confessions the night before...

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The crew had been playing 'Never have I ever' in the cool night air. The final question of the game had rattled the crew, some more than others. By the time the game ended though, the crew was light hearted and jesting about the whole situation. The confession in question followed Usopps turn in the game. 

"Never have I ever.......slept with someone on this crew!" Usopp was proud of himself for coming up with something that was sure to stir just the right amount of trouble. Most of the group looked confused and a little repulsed. They typically saw each other as family, as brother and sister alike. But to the majorities suprise, two participates gave a quick nod and downed a drink without really thinking.

" Ahh mmmhmmm". "Oh yeah, right" 

They said simultaneously. Luffy and Nami looked up at the others and then at each other. Nami suddenly let out a shriek in disbelief at herself for having confessed to such a thing so openly. As soon as Sanji put two and two together, he fainted from shock. The rest, apart from Zoro and Robin, yelled question after question. They interrogated their captain and navigator relentlessly while the more stoic mates observed.

Nami, "Alright alright! Look, before I joined the crew and thought I was just going back to that slime bag Arlong, I didn't think I'd see them again! At the time I was just getting the most out of a grift!"

Franky, "AHAHAHAHAHA I SEE! You kids must of had a lot of fun before us old folks joined the crew!" 

Although at first surprised by the secret affair, the crew returned to their usual jovial selves. They jested at Nami's dismay, earning the boys a great big whack on the head each, bar Robin and the silent Zoro. Robin had already known for a while as Nami regularly confided in her as the only other woman on the ship.

Nami, "Enough already! This is so embarrassing! Me and Luffy are way too different, no way I'd want to be with him! He's more like a little brother-captain or something."

Usopp, "Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!" 

Nami, "Come on Luffy, speak already! Tell them it was nothing!" 

"Oh yeah, I don't really get what the big deal is, it was just sex." Luffy nonchalantly replied with his hands on his head. Nami gave him another thwack to the head.

Nami, "Idiot! You better be grateful to me! That was a once in a life time opportunity and I don't give my pretty self up so easily you know." 

Luffy, "Owww Nami! Come on. Yeah it was good but it wasn't like special right? You didn't even want me to kiss you!"

Brook, "What really? I suppose that makes it a much more casual affair yohohohoho!" 

It was then that Zoro decided to get up and leave but before he could get away, he was pulled back by the arm.

Nami, "No way, all of you have to give up something embarrassing to repent for tricking me!"

Zoro, "Nobody tricked you woman! If you're displeased with yourself, go cry to someone else." He pulled away harshly. Nami stood a little aw struck. Zoro could be grumpy but not usually mean. Somehow the tone he used portrayed much more bite than the words did. The group watched as he walked away. Luffy wondered if maybe he didn't have enough to eat and was hungry-angry. Sanji was still unconscious.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Zoro wanted to confront the issue head on and just get it over with. He approached Luffy when no one else was around. He felt bad that he had snapped at Nami the day before and didn't want to accidentally do something like that again if he got heated. He didn't think the others would understand his reasoning either. 

"You are the captain and I know we never formally acknowledged it but, am I not your first mate? How come I never heard about any of this with you and Nami?"

"Huh? Why would I need to tell you? Like we said, it was just a casual thing, it just happened." 

"I need to know these things Luffy! I need to know if the crew is compromised in any way."

"Compromised? It was ages ago and nothing happened! I don't understand what the problem is." 

"A captain can't prioritise any single crew member over the others!" 

"I don't!"

"I don't know that! You slept with that woman and-!" 

"Don't call her 'that woman' she is Nami! Our Friend!"

"Whatever! The point is it's not appropriate! You can't just go around and-" 

"I'm not! It was once! And with no-one else! If I wanted to get my rocks off I'd just do it myself! I didn't want to say this in front of Nami but, I didn't even like it that much."

"Jeez Luffy, the issue isn't whether you liked it, the issue is that you need to be constantly focused on our goals! Even if for one minute you let your guard down or show any kind of bias, we all go down with you!" 

"Okay okay whatever! If I said sorry would you shut up already about this!?"

"One other thing, how did I not even know about this until now? There was barely enough members to sail a ship back then and yet this happened without anyone knowing!"

"I said alright already Zoro." Luffy got stern and unshakable. It put a halt to Zoro's rant. Luffy got up and walked away, but before he cleared the deck he turned to say one last thing. 

"No one else is this strung out about it. What's really upsetting you here?" The question caught Zoro off guard. He didn't know if he even had an answer yet. He simply said nothing, turned his head, shaking it ever so slightly. Luffy finally walked away with a sigh. When Zoro was sure Luffy was long gone, he lent over the railing of Sunny-go.

"Do you really not know?" He whispered to himself, head hanging low


	2. Chapter 2

The morning after the game of 'Never have I ever', Chopper was watching over Sanji whom was laid out on the infirmary bed. Chopper was humming to himself happily as he wrote in a journal at his desk. He liked to keep intricate records of history for each Straw-Hat but he already knew that Sanji was prone to shock induced fainting so it wasn't a huge bother. The little doctor thought on the events of the previous night. He was in the same mind frame as Luffy in that he didn't see why it caused such a ruckus. Then again, humans did experience s those things differently to reindeer. As he was mid thought, Sanji suddenly shot straight up in bed covered in sweat.

Sanji, "Oh My God Chopper! I had a terrible nightmare! I dreamt that our dearest navigator Nami was tainted by the lowest of beasts....a mortal man!" He panted and held him self for comfort. Chopper thought it best that he let the cook think it was a dream to preserve his mind.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Around midday, the crew was in full swing of their daily duties aboard the ship. Nami was making calculations in a note book when Usopp and Luffy ran past with fishing rods in hand. Nami stopped Luffy by yanking the back of his collar.

Nami, "Hey hold up, can we talk for a minute while the sea is still calm?"

Luffy, "Sure Nami, Oi Usopp, go on ahead!"

Usopp, "Roger captain! I'll leave you too ~loooove biiirds~ alone." He left with a wink.

Nami lent against the railing of the upper deck and crossed her arms.

Luffy, " So whatcha wanna talk about?"

Nami, "Well about that actually," referring to Usopps comment, "I know it's been a while since you know that stuff happened, you don't feel weird about it now or anything? The others like to make jokes so if they bother you-"

"Nahh don't worry Nami, I'm all good! Usopp and the others are just messing around, it's harmless."

"Yeah I know but,, I feel bad about it sometimes. I don't like being put into categories like that and I'm a way different person now than I was then."

"Yeah. Don't feel bad Nami! You don't have to explain things to them if you don't want too. Besides if we had never had sex I probably would have never found out I didn't like women so much. I say let em say whatever they want, I know I still love you and you love me, right?!"

"Yeah Luffy, I love all of you like your my own family." She gave him a big warm hug, satisfied that there was no awkwardness between them to spite everything.

"Oh Nami, one more thing."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Just wondering, if you are upset with Zoro or not."

Nami remembered having been forcefully brushed of by the swordsman.

"Oh right, no I'm not particularly bothered. He kind of apologized this morning so."

"Oh yeah? What he say?"

"He just said a quick sorry as he passed me this morning, a very Zoro apology."

"Oh that's good, I thought I'd have to scold him!"

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. He was probably just tired."

Nami waved him off to go play with Usopp so she could go back to work. By Nami's calculations, it would be about another three days until they arrived at the next island. She knew a storm would come in a day or so and until then, they would be passing through bouts of autumn and winter. Because of the need to be constantly vigilant on the great and dangerous sea, she would sleep in three hour intervals during the night, waking up to check the conditions and that the ship was still on course. Often, she would need a mid afternoon nap. 

The room she slept in was what would typically be the captains cabin. Nami however refused from day one to sleep in a hammock no matter how nice the boat was. This main sleeping cabin was usually occupied by her and Robin but on the occasion that someone was sick, she happily gave up the comfort in favour of her friends well being. 

She didn't know when it happened, but she and Robin usually shared a queen size bed in their quarters. There was of course other beds but somehow they managed to fall into the habit. It might have started as something like Robin needing new sheets and just using Nami's bed until she got new ones. But she never got around to getting new sheets and so that is how it became. Robin had also somehow gotten into the habit of giving Nami a kiss on the cheek when they went to sleep or sometimes it was her way of waking Nami from her naps. At first it was extremely embarrassing and shocking but Nami grew accustomed to it and just accepted it as another thing her crazy crewmates did.

Most recently, the two enjoyed huddling for warmth when they hit winter spots on the sea. Both of them were well aware that the cabin was heated but chose to ignore that particular fact. Nami was aware that the situation between them had been slowly evolving and heightening in intensity but she was afraid of saying anything. She didn't know if having a relationship of any kind was wise on a pirate ship when danger was around every corner. There was that and the fact that Robin was an older women which was intimidating. Nami had no experience with women, other than a crush on Vivi she never got the chance to investigate. A mature, tall woman with beautiful features, an elegant body and the grace of the gods. It was hard to stand up to. She guessed that if she just waited, an answer would arrive on its own in time. For the time being, she had enough on her plate reining in the children and keeping the ship afloat.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Zoro and Luffy had their argument. Zoro had waited all day, biding his time for the right chance. However, for Luffy it was a shot out of nowhere that turned his peaceful day into a frustrating one. When he left Zoro at the bow after their argument, he headed to the men's sleeping quarters. Zoro and Franky had the night shift so he felt safe leaving it to them and turning in. Usopp was fast asleep snoring and Sanji was curled up embracing himself. Luffy jumped into his own hammock he had lined with his dirty old shirts as padding. He put his hat over his face and tried to go to sleep. A few minutes later he removed the hat from his face and stared at the ceiling.

He kept thinking that Zoro had sounded off. Like he was lying but not really. He went on about appropriate behaviour and compromise and bias and all Luffy could think the whole time was, 'Why in the hell does he care so much?'. The others laughed and made fun. They were surprised, sure, but it wasn't like some big earth shattering secret. Luffy decided something else must have been bothering Zoro that whole time. When he snapped at Nami, he thought he must have been hungry or sleepy. After hearing him talk, he didn't know what to think. 

After some internal deliberation, the only outlying factor Luffy could think of was that it had to do with sex. It wasn't a common subject among the crew but they all had their fair share of illicit encounters going by the stories told at parties. Zoro wasn't one to participate in such stories and Luffy imagined it was just his usual reserved self but maybe...

"He must be a prude." He said quietly to himself. It made him giggle a little at the thought of Zoro being embarrassed about talk of sex, never being able to join conversation because he was too inexperienced. It was, in Luffy's mind, the most logical explanation he could come up with. He was able to drift off to sleep believing the whole thing would soon blow over. 

\-----------------------------------------------

_The next day_

Nami peered over the railing from the upper deck at Luffy who sat on the starboard side railing and Zoro who sat on the port side railing. Those two idiots had been bickering all day. It started at breakfast, fighting over food more than usual and moved on to competing at who could raise the sails quickest or who could bench press the spare anchor more times. After a while, it just became sitting on opposite sides of the ship and throwing insults at each other.

Luffy, "Oi you damn killjoy, did you use all the bait already!"

Zoro, "Dumbass, I already said you made a snack out of that the other day! Your fucking gross."

"Don't call me gross! Sanji was passed out, I had to improvise!"

"Yeah and your improvisation was to do the grossest thing possible! Other than-"

Zoro stopped himself from saying what he was thinking. He was aggravated by the day's worth of taunts. 'Prude', 'Mr Grundy','fridged fuck', Luffy seemed to think Zoro was some kind of puritan because he got angry over sex. It was a very watered down, minimised summary of his opinion on the matter. So, the captain had been openly making fun of Zoro by basically calling him a virgin.

Luffy, " Oh Zoro don't look now but Robin is in a Bikini! You don't want to get a nose bleed like Sanji!"

Zoro, "What! I am not some gross stalker like that fucking cook! I don't give a shit what she wears!"

"Oh are you sure your not just dysfunctional! Some guys think with their dicks but you probably don't even have one!"

"What in the fuck did you say!" Zoro left his side of the ship to approach Luffy, drawing a sword.

"What, you don't have a dick to throw around so you use swords instead? You sure the whole three swords thing isn't just compensation?"

Just as they where about to collide, Robin materialised a giant hand between them.

Nami sighed, "Thank you Robin. You two need to cut it out already! Luffy stop goading him into fights!"

Luffy, "Huh? Me? But Nami, he called me gross!"

Nami, "Yeah and you said he didn't have a dick! I think you are more than even. Also, I heard and eating the fish bait is extremely gross."

Zoro had already started walking away by the time Nami started her scolding. Luffy was always absurdly immature like that so it wasn't anything he couldn't take. The thing that made him angry was how wrong Luffy seemed to have read him. Usually the two could practically read each other's minds. They were completely in sync when in combat, Zoro always knew when something was bothering Luffy, they often came up with the exact same strategies and yet this was just too complicated. He always knew his captain was a dumbass but only now was actually an issue. To make matters worse, they had to be in relative proximity to one another most of the day. Zoro could hide away in the crowd nest but he always need to come out to eat or help sail or something. Luffy kept finding way to provoke him into retaliating. He probably figured they just needed to fight it out and they would go back to normal afterwards but this wasn't an issue that could be sold with fist unfortunately.

Zoro could admit it after almost three years of having known Luffy. He was hopelessly in love. The day they met, he told the young captain that if ever he got in the way of Zoro's dream, the swordsman wouldn't hesitate in cutting him off. Not so long after that he was taking stabs, gun shots and blunt force trauma for Luffy. Dying would definitely put an end to his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman but what Zoro now worried about more was not being their to protect Luffy, to advise him and keep him on the right path.

He had fallen so deep for this idiot it was maddening. He frequently got angry at himself for loosing concentration because of a stray Luffy thought. He was disciplined enough to not let it affect him too much especially during battle. But these long in-between stints of sailing when all he could do was train and sleep, it took him over. 

The argument they had the other day made it worse because Luffy was constantly looking for opportunities to fight. He wasn't ashamed to admit that the tension and adrenaline made him heat up inside and burn for the touch of the other, even if it came in the form of a fist to the face. He tried to release stress once in a while but when you sleep in a room with almost seven people, it feels more like a test of will not to make any suspicious movement or sound. Thank fuck he had the crow's nest. The next island would hopefully provide the crew some leg room and a chance to settle down once more and as far as Zoro was concerned, that chance couldn't come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was kind of getting sick of this part so I'm not as proud of it but there will be much more fun things in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> preview:
> 
> Zoro and Luffy can't stop fighting over the pettiest of things. When the captain can't go to his first mate, he goes to his best friend.
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Into is very short but i expect the following chapters to be longer. Don't know how i will divide it up but i'm thinking around 4 chapters at this point. thank you for the support :)


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